Dear Kid,

There is a jellyfish outbreak in the Mediterranean. Having had my share of jellyfish hugs, you know how I feel about them (they belong anywhere I’m not). According to NPR, the reasons for the outbreak are climate change, overfishing, and desire to reduce the number of tourists on the beach.

Best fact of the day: In Spain, they call jellyfish Medusas. That is perfect. I was going to include a picture of jellyfish, but they give me the heebie jeebies. The images I found of Medusa aren’t much better, so you will have to use your imagination.

According to one expert, jellyfish are very smart because they can reproduce more quickly than fish can. There is nothing about that sentence that makes any sense to me.

Officials are doing all sorts of things to try to contain the jellyfish population. In Spain, they are posting jellyfish flags along the beach to scare off the tourists and cause the jellyfish to die of loneliness. In Israel, they are testing sound frequencies (like bad rap music) to encourage jellyfish to float elsewhere. My idea is they should develop some sort of peanut butter invertebrate and serve lunch to the turtles. (Fact: Leatherback turtles like Man o War jellyfish. Moms do not.)

Today is the first day of Pi’s sophomore year. Which means summer homework (by definition) is done. Guess when she started? Wrong. She started in June. Guess when she finished? Yup, last night. (Fortunately, she finished at reasonable hour.) And yes, there was a pretty darn big gap in the middle.

There are things that can be done at the last minute and things that require advance planning. Figuring out the difference—and actually doing things in advance that require doing in advance—may be the Key to a Happy Life not to mention a successful college career.

Things That Can Be Done at the Last Minute

• Choosing a library book to read during summer break
• Patting a friendly dog on the head
• Warming up leftovers
• Taking a nap

Things That Require Advance Work

• Crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a raft
• Producing Aida
• Studying for exams
• Summer homework

Message sent (and I assume received).

Love, Mom